It's been a relatively quiet couple of months for bingo in the news, but a couple of articles have caught our interest this week. Therefore it's time for another of our round-ups. This week there's Secret Santa Bingo taking place in Newcastle, whilst GPs could start prescribing bingo! We're not sure how the UKGC will take to those kind of Doctor's Orders.

The idea behind Doctor's prescribing bingo comes from a recent scheme operating in the Croydon area. By using "community prescribing" GPs are encouraging patients to undertake activities such as coffee mornings, fitness classes, gardening, mindfulness and other group events. These help to keep participants active and also combat feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Doctor's Orders

According to the reports (The Guardian, this scheme has reduce the number of people using doctors' appointments for non-medical issues. We think it's a great idea! Hopefully Government, both local and national, will support this initiative and give it funding. These kind of groups can only survive if they have the finance!

Although The UKGC may frown at bingo being prescribed by GPs, the numbers game is actually good for you. According to studies number games like bingo can keep help keep the mind in trim. Playing games - and even going shopping - are just as good for well being as physical exercise. It's also a social activity so very useful in bringing people together!

Secret Santa Bingo

No finance is required however for the Secret Santa Bingo that's taking place in Newcastle this festive season. Bingo Revolution will be hosting events on the 30th November and 7th December at The Christmas Village. Details about what will take place are quite limited but drop by Bingo Revolution's Facebook page to see what they're all about.

According to the Newcastle Chronicle report the Secret Santa Bingo will involve "comedian bingo callers and hilarious prizes together with big cash prizes". If you're interested then make sure you book your free tickets online. These can be ordered via the Christmas Village website.

Hefty Fine For Stride Gaming

Finally, it's not all good news in the world of online bingo. Stride Gaming - a company which oversees a number of bingo brands including Moon, Kitty and Lucky Pants - has received a hefty £7.1million fine from The UK Gambling Commission. The reason for the fine was due to the company's failure with respect to anti-money laundering and consumer protection.

The full report can be found at The UKGC. As part of the findings, Daub Alderney "will also have extra conditions placed on its licence to provide gambling to consumers in Britain".